Government must explain AP phone record seizure

The U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press - but it refuses to say why it has sought the documents.

This is completely unacceptable, and the Justice Department has to be far more forthcoming about its intentions. This is the latest in a series of controversies that is bogging down the Obama administration, in a second term that requires progress on many fronts - not setbacks of this nature.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the federal government has given itself far-reaching powers over the public, ranging from wiretapping to security checks. But there has to be limits. And the Justice Department crossed over the line in this case. The government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines in several states, including New York, assigned to the AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012.

While the federal prosecutors won't directly say why they took this action, the AP noted that federal officials have previously said they are conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. Among those whose phone numbers were obtained were five reporters and an editor involved that story, the AP reports.

But, as AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt noted in a letter of protest to the government, the seizing of so many phone lines for such an extended period went far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation.

The AP pointed out that, under Justice Department rules, a subpoena to the media must be "as narrowly drawn as possible."

Moreover, proper checks and balances are essential to a free society, and the press has a critically important role, as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an emailed statement: "The burden is always on the government when they go after private information, especially information regarding the press or its confidential sources. ? On the face of it, I am concerned that the government may not have met that burden. I am very troubled by these allegations and want to hear the government's explanation."

Leahy is not alone. The public should be greatly troubled when the essential news-gathering functions of The Associated Press or any media operation are impaired in this way.

News operations - and the sources who provide so much important information - must not be impeded by overzealous investigators fishing around for information. The onus is on the Justice Department to more fully explain its intent - and to narrow the focus of such tactics in the future unless it can meet a much higher burden.

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Government must explain AP phone record seizure

Talk about an alarming overreach The U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press ? but it refuses to say why it has